Poppy's Mission Chp7 and a half Birthday disaster
by NerdAlert8910
Summary: Poppy throws a party for Branch's birthday, the results are... less than favorable. The Missing chapter to Poppy's Mission, read that first for context or read as a one-shot. Broppy (Duh!) Rated K


**AN: okay for those of you who aren't aware, in Poppy's Mission I mentioned Branch's Birthday and Poppy was going to do something with that… and then I totally forgot and wrote something else, so some people were pointing out that it doesn't make a lick of sense. So I wrote this one-shot of what transpired that day, and you could technically read it on its own or read Poppy's Mission and this in the order it goes. Any song credits will be at the end, I don't own anything. And without further ado, I present you…**

Chp7.5 Birthday disaster

Branch woke up not in a good mood at all, it had been a couple days since he told Poppy she should stay away. He didn't have any gathering or foraging to do today, so he was just going to stay inside. He laid on his bed for hours, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly he heard singing, he looked over and saw the manifestation of his loneliness.

 **LONELY.**

 **I'M MR LONELY.**

 **I HAVE NOBODY, FOR MY OWN!**

He rolled his eyes, and groaned loudly. "Could you be melancholy somewhere else?" Lonely just shook his head, and sighed sadly. Branch got up and walked away, he didn't want to deal with his crazy delusions today. Just then he heard a loud pounding upstairs, squinting in confusion he went over to the lift and went up.

The pounding didn't stop as he got closer to the door, which meant it could only be one person. "What do you want Poppy? I thought I made it clear that I'm bad company to keep!" Poppy just kept banging on the door, just irritating Branch more and more. "Poppy are you listening to me?!" He shouted, but she just started banging louder.

"She's not going to go away you know." Branch turned around, and saw the mental representation of his bitter sense of reality. Branch covered his ears, and said. "I'm ignoring both of you!" But the pounding just got louder and louder, a low growl growing deep inside him. Having enough, he opened the passageway and shouted. "What!"

Poppy just smiled at him, handing him a plain envelope. It was too small and plain to be one of her invites, he looked at the paper curiously then looked up at her. "What's this?" He asked, and she just fiddled with her hands. "It's from my Dad, he wants to talk to you later tonight." And just like that she walked away, leaving Branch very confused.

He closed his front passageway, and looked at the letter. It was definitely Peppy's handwriting, but why didn't he just send it through the mail tubes? Then he thought about it, Peppy knew how he felt about Poppy! So he sent her to see him, Branch sighed and put the letter on his desk. He couldn't not go though, it actually might be important. And if he didn't show up, after being summoned by the king? He just hoped this wasn't some hamfisted attempt to get him to spend time with Poppy, that wouldn't be preferable.

As Poppy walked away, she let out a breath she had been holding. She was so nervous about her plans, what if he didn't come? There were so many things that could go wrong with this plan, and all of them were swimming around her head. Is this how Branch thought, she pondered. But her thoughts were interrupted by Suki, tapping her shoulder. "Poppy? I asked you a question!" Poppy shook her head, ignoring the doubtful thoughts.

"I'm sorry Suki, what did you need." Suki handed her a list of songs, and said. "I need you to pick an opening song for Branch's Birthday Bash, and I need it yesterday!" Poppy skimmed the list, going over which song to choose. Then she saw the perfect one, the lyrics explained perfectly that the village needed him... That she needed him… as a friend of course!

She pointed at the song, and said. "That one!" Suki looked at it, and smiled. "Oooo! A classic, and romantic!" Suki put a hand over her heart, and fluttered her eyelashes. Poppy blushed dark pink, shoving Suki's shoulder. "Shut up, it's not like that!" Suki just patted her shoulder, and walked away humming to herself.

 **SHE'S IN LOVE.**

 **SHE'S IN LOVE.**

Poppy then went up to her friend Guy Diamond, who was with Satin and Chenille. "Come on, you've got to have a better color palette than that!" Chenille chastised the glitter troll, he crossed his arms in frustration. "Branch is Grey! The only color that goes with grey, is other shades of grey!" Satin took the pallet and looked it over, not liking any of them. "Well how many shades of grey are there?"

"Guy Diamond shrugged, and answered. "Forty Nine?" Poppy spoke up, pointing to a greenish grey. "Branch wears mostly browns and greens, so this one!" Satin and Chenille studied the small grey square, both nodding. "I think we could work with that." Chenille said. "I'm thinking…" Then they both said together. "Nature theme!" And they set off to work, then Poppy went over to Biggie.

"How's the photo op area coming?" She asked, and Biggie patted his trusty camera. "All set up, and ready for tonight's festivities! Isn't that right Mr. Dinkles?" The little worm let out a small. "Mew!" Poppy giggled and moved on to Smidge and Fuzzbert, who had the cake under a huge blanket. "Can I see the cake guys?" But Smidge stepped between her and the cake, shaking her head.

"Sorry Poppy, you're gonna have to wait like everyone else!" Poppy pouted, but knew there was no arguing with Smidge. Or Fuzzbert, so she walked over to Creek who was setting up the dance floor. "Hey Creek, how's the dance floor coming?" Creek smiled at her, and said. "Oh it's coming along great love, just need to make sure it lights up and it'll be done."

Poppy smiled at him, and put a hand on his arm. "Thank you for doing this for me, I know Branch is a bit rude to you but this means a lot." Creek just brushed it off like it was nothing. "Poppy, I would do anything to help you… anything." Just then the hugtime bracelets chimed, and Poppy hugged him. He hugged her back, and she felt all giddy inside.

After she was done hugging Creek, she headed over to her Dad. "Hi Dad! So he got the letter and everything is in place." He put an arm around her shoulder, and they both looked over the party. "Great job sweetie, I'm sure it'll go off without a hitch!" I hope so, Poppy thought.

A couple hours later Branch finally emerged from his bunker, still unsure about this but he just buried that and trudged on. He walked for a good two minutes before he saw Peppy, standing under a root that curved up like an archway. "King Peppy, you wanted to see me?" Peppy smiled, leading Branch through the archway. "Branch my boy! You made it, now let me just say…"

Suddenly the area was lit up, and every single troll in Troll village shouted. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANCH!" Branch jumped in surprise, and looked around at all of the trolls. His mind was in a panic, he forgot it was his birthday! But how did everyone know, he never told anyone! Poppy stepped up to him and gave him a present, Branch didn't know what to do.

He couldn't reject it in front of the whole village, or Peppy. So slowly and shakily he tore open the paper, only to find the box was covered in duct tape. He looked up at the giggling Poppy, clearly annoyed. "Really?" He reached into his hair, and pulled out a small knife and cut the present open. "Aww that's cheating!" Poppy said disappointed, Branch just smirked at her.

He reached into the box, and pulled out a compass. It was a simple gift, but a thoughtful one. He just murmured a thank you, and put the compass in his hair. Poppy then lead him over to the cake, and pulled off the blanket. Branch tilted his head in confusion, it was a cake of his head. But something was definitely off, and he asked. "Why does cake me have a beard?" Poppy gasped, looking at Smidge who looked at Fuzzbert.

"I told you he didn't have a beard!" Fuzzbert gave some defensive mumbling sounds, but Smidge just said. "Of course you saw hair on his face, your hair is in front of your eyes!" Poppy lead Branch away from the cake, laughing nervously. Branch then noticed all the grey banners, and Poppy also noticed they were all the wrong colors. She looked at Satin Chenille and Guy Diamond, who all pointed at each other.

Branch wanted to tell her that he didn't want any of this, but he didn't want to make her cry again or embarrass her in front of the entire village. The compass was a nice gift, and he was honestly going to use it. But that was all he needed, he didn't need a big flashy party. A failing one at that, judging by the panicked look on Poppy's face.

Poppy was freaking out, this was a disaster! Then she thought, the song! That would fix this, so she ran up to the stage and cleared her throat. "Everyone, this song is the first in our line up for the evening. And in honor of Branch's Birthday, we won't be playing too loudly per his request." Branch felt somewhat moved, she was actually taking his concerns into account.

 **(TURN AROUND.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A LITTLE BIT LONELY, AND YOU'RE NEVER COMING ROUND!**

 **(TURN AROUND.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A LITTLE BIT TIRED, OF LISTENING TO THE SOUND OF MY TEARS!**

Branch's eyes narrowed, this song. It was so… familiar?

 **(TURN AROUND.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS, THAT THE BEST OF ALL THE YEARS HAVE GONE BY!**

 **(TURN AROUND.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A LITTLE BIT TERRIFIED, AND THEN I SEE THE LOOK IN YOUR EYES!**

It gave him the most sinking feeling of, dread. Guilt and pain, and he couldn't place why.

 **(TURN AROUND BRIGHT EYES.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART.**

 **(TURN AROUND BRIGHT EYES.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART.**

Creek noticed that Branch was looking nervous, which wasn't out of the ordinary. But he looked alarmed, and Creek could tell something was definitely wrong.

 **(TURN AROUND.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A LITTLE BIT RESTLESS, AND I DREAM OF SOMETHING WILD!**

 **(TURN AROUND.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A LITTLE BIT HELPLESS, AND I'M LYING LIKE A CHILD IN YOUR ARMS!**

Creek was going to ask what was wrong, then he remembered. This song, it was the one from when… "Oh no!"

 **(TURN AROUND.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A LITTLE BIT ANGRY, AND I KNOW I'VE GOT TO GET OUT AND CRY!**

 **(TURN AROUND.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A LITTLE BIT TERRIFIED, AND THEN I SEE THE LOOK IN YOUR EYES!**

Branch began to feel anxious, the world caving in on him. He knew this song, and caused him so much pain and guilt. Creek desperately tried to get to the stage, the crowd too thick. "Poppy, stop the song!" But she couldn't hear him, and Branch's breathing became erratic and quick

 **(TURN AROUND BRIGHT EYES.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART.**

 **(TURN AROUND BRIGHT EYES.)**

 **EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART!**

Then it all came flooding back to Branch, he hugged himself. "No… no no no no! Stop! Please stop!" He covered his ears, trying to drown out the song. A couple of the Trolls around him started to notice, exchanging worried looks.

 **AND I NEED YOU NOW TONIGHT, AND I NEED YOU MORE THAN EVER!**

 **AND YOU ONLY HOLD ME TIGHT, WE'LL BE HOLDING ON FOREVER!**

 **AND WE'LL ONLY BE MAKING IT RIGHT, CAUSE WE'LL NEVER BE WRONG!**

Branch fell to his knees, covering his face. Holding back tears, as he was flooded with guilt and sorrow. The trolls had now formed a circle around him, afraid to get near him.

 **TOGETHER WE CAN TAKE IT THE END OF THE LINE, YOUR-**

"Branch!" Poppy finally noticed something was wrong, and ran down to him, her father following close behind. "Branch are you okay?" She asked concerned, and reached out for his shoulder. But Branch jerked away, stumbling away. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" He shouted, he looked around at the terrified and worried faces of the crowd.

He didn't want to be pitied, so he scrambled to his feet clumsily and ran away towards his bunker. "Branch wait!" Poppy was going to run after him, but Creek stopped her. "Poppy, it's best to leave him alone right now." Poppy had tears in her eyes, it was her fault and she knew it. "What happened, what did I do wrong?!"

Creek wiped a tear off her face, giving her a sad smile. "That song-" he started, but stopped when he saw Peppy shaking his head. "Branch just reeeeeally hates that song, to the point where… well you just saw. It's not your fault, you didn't know!" Poppy stared where Branch had left, despite what Creek said she felt extremely responsible. Peppy decided that he should get control of the situation, raising his hands and calling out.

"Alright everyone, I think it's best we all go home! We'll clean up tomorrow, Poppy you can try to talk to Branch tomorrow." Poppy hung her head, walking home sadly knowing she had ruined Branch's birthday. Branch didn't stop running until he was home, he slammed the bolder in the entrance. Then he slumped back against it, and slid down.

Branch curled into a ball, actual sobs coming from him. He had always buried his feelings, so he was completely unprepared for how he felt now. All the guilt and sorrow flooding back all at once, it was just too much for him to handle. And he stayed that way the rest of the night, alone with his thoughts dwelling on the past.

Poppy couldn't sleep all night, she just laid awake thinking about his distraught face. She wondered if he was awake, it was light out and he got up pretty early normally. She decided that now was a good time as ever to apologise, so she got up got dressed and headed out the door. On her way she could tell everyone was a bit… skittish.

The trolls around Poppy wouldn't keep eye contact, clearly not wanting to talk about last night. So she hurried through the village, and soon she reached the bunker. Poppy was about to knock, but paused with uncertainty. She then knocked twice, firm but not loud and obnoxious.

"Branch?… are you there?" She got no reply, so she sighed. Slumping against the bolder, and sliding down till she was sitting. "What is it Poppy?" Branch asked, not in an angry tone but a tired melancholy one. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry!" Branch just sat there, but replied. "You didn't know, but future reference… don't throw me a party." Poppy looked down, she was ashamed of what she did.

"Don't waste your time on me princess, I know I wouldn't!" Poppy's heart broke a little, he always talked so down about himself. But whenever she would say something good about him, he would contradict it with a unfortunately valid point. Poppy stood up and turned back to the door, holding her breath as she asked.

"Can you please open the door, before I leave… please?" Branch thought about it, but honestly there was nothing she could do to make the situation worse. So he stood up and moved the large rock, and there she was. He could tall she hadn't slept, and she still had a sad look on her face.

Even still, he thought she was stunning. The sunlight almost making her glow, she was radiant. She had her hands behind her back and looked super nervous, then she stepped closer and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Both were blushing hard, and Poppy said barely above a whisper. "Happy birthday."

She then turned around and ran off, leaving a shocked Branch in his doorway. He just stood there, placing a hand over where she had kissed him. He eventually retreated into his bunker, and sat down at his desk. He reached up into his hair, and pulled out the compass. He admired it, turning it over in his hands. Then he noticed an engraving at the bottom, it read.

(To my best friend whether you like it or not, may this always help you find your way back to me. Love: Poppy)

Branch smiled, he knew she didn't mean it that way. But those two words together made him a little happy, not much but it was there. He took a piece of pink ribbon, and looped it through the compass and tied it off. And even though he knew it was best that she and him stay apart, secretly in his heart he hoped she'd never give up on him.

After all, he loved her.

 **AN: Well there you have it, the lost chapter to Poppy's Mission. I hope that clears up the misunderstandings, and I will be updating Pokemon emerald next. Sorry to all those looking forward to more trolls, but I have a plan. After Pokemon I'm gonna work on three chapters for No Troll Left Behind, then a musical troll tale. And then finally the first chapter of Suki's Mission, and yes I've been flip flopping between Suki's and DJ'S but that's the final decision. Thanks for all the love and support, I love you all! Cyber Hugs!**

 **Song credits.**

 **Mr. Lonely-Bobby Vinton**

 **She's in love-The little Mermaid the musical JR**

 **Total eclipse of the heart-Bonnie Tyler**


End file.
